


Four Boys, Two Crowns, and a Prom Campaign to the Death

by PimpedOutGreenEars



Category: The Maze Runner (2014), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Humor, M/M, Multi, mention of depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-15 18:51:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3457955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PimpedOutGreenEars/pseuds/PimpedOutGreenEars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Minho and Thomas start dating they decide to run for prom kings. However, when their campaign gets too obnoxious Alby and Newt decide to take the crowns from them. Of course things go too far.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first chapter fic for The Maze Runner. I have this outlined to be around 12 chapters, but I'm awful with estimates. Also, there are quite a few side pairings, but most of them won't show up for a while. Critique is much appreciated!

**Chapter 1**

As the school day at Glade High came to an end the hallways filled with the noise of happy students leaving for the day, as well as noise from some students who were staying after for one reason or another.

Two such students were Thomas and Minho. The two boys in mention were trying to hang up a poster before track practice, but trying to get the poster level was turning into a bigger struggle than they had previously imagined.

"Would you just— Dude, what are you even trying to _do_?"

"What are _you_ trying to do?"

Newt laughed from his spot leaning against a locker. They'd been going on like this for a while now.

It was finally reaching that time that so many Glade students had been waiting their whole high school careers for: Prom.

Well, junior prom at least.

Thomas and Minho may not have always been in that group, but upon deciding to date three weeks prior they had certainly fallen into it.

Meanwhile Newt still couldn't find it within himself to care. He wasn't much of a dancer, and all of the mystical firsts that people seemed to associate with prom he had already done with Alby, and in a much classier setting than under a disco ball in a room full of cheap crate paper, or in a dirty hotel room that didn't even have cable.

Still he was happy, or at least very amused, that Minho and Thomas were getting so into it. The two may have only been dating for a few weeks, but they had already decided that they were going to become prom kings.

Of course Newt didn't see that happening. He and Alby had been giving each other starry eyed looks since the seventh grade, and by eighth they'd been holding hands underneath the table at lunch. And now that they were juniors it was no secret to anyone that they were dating.

If anything they were the closest thing the school had to an 'it' couple. Everyone knew they were dating and, for the most part, everyone liked them. In short, they were going to be prom kings whether Newt cared or not. But still, it was nice to see Thomas and Minho having a good time.

"What are those two slintheads doing?" Alby asked as he came up behind Newt, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

On a normal day Alby would've already met up with the group and been up to speed with whatever shenanigan was going on, but today he'd had to stay after in chemistry to talk with his teacher.

Apparently Mr. Michael felt it necessary to explain to him that there were ways to deal with other students without yelling. And really Alby supposed he agreed. But in his eyes when some slinthead was mixing random chemicals, near a lit Bunsen burner, without goggles on, _at Alby's damn table_ , _that_ was a yelling time.

But whatever. He'd gotten off with a warning, and Blaise would probably be too scared to sit at the same lab table as him.

God, he wished he had chemistry with Newt. Or at least with someone who wasn't going to fucking kill him.

"Well, I'm trying to get this poster straight. I don't know what Thomas is doing," Minho complained as he finally pulled the poster out of his boyfriend's hands. He'd had enough of the back and forth.

"I'm trying to put it up high enough so that people can see it, but some shuckface won't let me," Thomas snapped back.

Minho only had to look at Thomas for a moment before they both grinned like idiots. It was impossible for them to actually stay mad at each other.

"You're the only shuckface I see," Minho retorted as he finally settled on a position and hung up the poster. He then stood back to admire his work.

It was a rather large poster with the words 'Minho and Thomas 4 Prom Kingz' written messily, accompanied by a bad cell phone picture of the two of them in aviators.

To everyone who wasn't Minho or Thomas, it looked ridicules.

"Did you two even try with that thing?" Alby asked as he looked at it from his spot beside Newt. He was disgusted and he didn't bother trying to hide it.

Newt tried not to show it, but he was definitely feeling the same way. It was funny how Alby had a way of saying the rude things that Newt would never let himself say.

But it was what it was. Alby and Newt were both over organized and detail oriented. Sloppy lines were enough to make both of them cringe. And they were definitely cringing.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Where's your poster again?" Minho asked, arching one of his eyebrows up comically far.

"Wouldn't waste my shucking time," Alby said with an eye roll.

"Yeah, I wouldn't either. Not when you guys would have to beat Thomas and me," Minho said mockingly.

"We're destined for royalty," Thomas joked, as he put his arm around Minho.

"Doubt the crowns would fit over your big shucking heads," Alby retorted.

"Well come prom night you're see that they fit us like gloves," Minho said with a smirk.

"Too bad they won't fit you like crowns," Newt said evenly with a smirk of his own.

"It's alright Newt, no need to get jelly on us. I'm sure you and Alby can win something else someday," Minho joked.

"Don't you idiots have track practice to go to?" Alby finally asked, his face resting in its natural state of mild hostility.

"Aw, can't take a little trash talk?" Minho said, trying to egg the couple on.

"Come on, Minho, we're gonna be late," Thomas said as he pulled at his boyfriend's arm. "We can remind them about our inevitable victory later."

Minho grinned in reply. He always liked it when he and Thomas could be smug assholes together.

"Yeah, alright. Race you to the track!" Minho said quickly before he took off in a burst.

Thomas barely managed a wave before he was running at Minho's heels.

That left Alby and Newt to stare at the awful prom poster.

"They're gonna be this way all the way up until prom," Alby said, his tone annoyed slightly more than usual.

"Probably. But at least we'll get a good laugh at prom," Newt said as leaned his body lightly against Alby's. "You know we're going to win."

Alby let out what sounded like a snort, but Newt knew constituted as a laugh from Alby. "How could we not with posters like these?"

"They are bloody awful, aren't they?" Newt agreed as he tilted his head to better stare at the poster.

"Can barely make out the wording," Alby criticized.

"I just wonder what made them think a puke green color was the way to go," Newt mussed.

"Stupid shanks is why," Alby replied with an eye roll.

Newt sighed as he shook his head.

"Let's just go before we tear it down for the good of the school," Newt suggested, and for the first time since walking up to him, Alby smiled.

"Coffee then your house alright?" Alby asked. The shorter boy wanted nothing more than to relax and spend some time with Newt.

"Sounds like a bloody dream come true to me," Newt said with a smile as they began making their way out of the school and away from the awful prom posters.

With any luck Thomas and Minho would calm down about their prom king campaign within a week.

* * *

Thomas and Minho's prom campaign did not simmer down in a week. If anything their efforts got stronger.

The two had posters all over the school and the pair rarely talked about anything that wasn't prom related.

And Newt figured that he could deal with all of that if it wasn't for the fact that people had begun taking them seriously as contenders for prom kings.

People were actually talking about Minho and Thomas like they were the schools 'it' couple. The poster children for high school sweethearts. It was ridicules! They'd only been dating for a month!

One bloody month!

How could people even begin to want to vote for them?

But Newt had calmed himself. Because he honestly didn't care about prom, or winning some plastic crown and getting his picture in the year book for the 20th time. Really Newt's only desire for prom was to spend the night goofing off with Alby, before hitting some after parties, and then letting Alby hit _it_ once they got someplace quiet.

But of course, sometimes people had a way of pushing things.

Once again Newt and Alby were getting ready to leave school, as Minho and Thomas were getting ready to go to track practice.

"So we were thinking that once we're prom kings we could dub you guys as our prom princes or something. You know, to ease the sting?" Minho was rambling now. His trash talking had intensified tenfold within the last week.

"Would you please stop talking about the bloody prom? Neither of us cares if you get voted prom kings," Newt said sounding exasperated.

"Please, Newt. I know when you're jelly," Minho said, a cocky grin on his face.

"Tommy, can you take this lug to track practice before I run him over with Alby's car?" Newt asked calmly.

"Sure," Thomas replied easily, Minho rolling his eyes as he began making his way toward the track without being told, mumbling about Newt being a jealous shank. "But Newt, you really shouldn't worry about the stuff Minho's saying. Us being a better couple than you guys isn't a big deal."

Thomas took off jogging toward the track before Newt even had time to speak.

It really wasn't a big deal. Newt knew Tommy didn't mean anything nasty by the comment. Knew he was just trash talking like they all did. But that didn't change the fact that he'd just put down the last piece of straw to break the camel's back.

"Better couple," Newt said calmly.

On the inside Newt's blood was boiling.

Thomas and Minho had no idea what being in a long term relationship was like. They had no idea what it was like when things got hard. How could they? They'd never had to face the things he and Alby had.

In the years they'd been together the two of them had conquered more issues than most relationships ever saw. When Newt had gotten so depressed and overwhelmed with life that he had jumped off of the top bleachers at the football stadium, Alby had dragged him to safety. And then Alby had not only spent weeks with him at physical therapy, but had also talked him into regular therapy. And even now they still had to work through those issues because the depression still managed to sink in sometimes.

And when Alby had gotten a football injury the year before and had been in almost constant pain for months, making the boy about three times as irritable as usual, which was already hard to deal with for people whose name wasn't Newt, Newt had been there. Even when Alby had seemed impossible to be around, Newt had held on.

And really wasn't that what being a couple was about? Holding on and making each other stronger?

Newt knew Tommy shouldn't have managed to cause the reaction he did, but he had. Because there was a part of Newt that wanted to be acknowledged for his relationship. A part of him that wanted to make sure people saw what he had with Alby because too often it seemed like the only thing he had to be proud of.

And to someone like Newt all of those feelings felt so stupid and illogical that he felt a need to push them back, but then Alby grabbed his hand.

Alby had watched a distant look come onto Newt's pale face after Thomas' comment. That look had been enough that Newt hadn't had to say more for Alby to understand exactly what he meant.

He knew that Thomas' last remark had gotten to Newt. He knew that Newt had taken it as a direct attack against the quality of their relationship.

And Alby wasn't okay with that.

"Looks like we're going to show two shanks what an actual couple looks like," Alby said, giving Newt a smile that was really only a slight upturn of his lips.

Newt grinned. No one else was so capable of knowing exactly what he wanted.

"We should start by tearing down all those shucking posters," Alby suggested after a moment of silence.

"Obviously," Newt agreed, the feeling of being so in sync making him all the more willing to be destructive.

There were many advantages Newt and Alby's relationship had to Tommy and Minho's, but if Newt had to pick the one that would help them the most now, it was that he and Alby worked like a well-oiled machine, while Tommy and Minho worked like two drunken freshman trying desperately to hold each other up long enough to get back to their dorm rooms.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho and Thomas go in search of the scoundrel who destroyed all of their prom posters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I tried to get this chapter out fairly quickly since not a lot happened in the last chapter. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before I post another. Any critique would be loved!

**Chapter 2**

Thomas could hardly believe that something had made his boyfriend speechless.

In the time he'd known Minho he'd never once seen the boy grapple to find words to say. Minho was always ready with some thought or retort, usually drenched in sarcasm, and, more often than not, more than a little insensitive.

But this time Minho was speechless, and Thomas himself couldn't find much to say.

Their prom king posters had all been destroyed or torn down, and really the tearing down was the lesser of two evils. Some of the defacing hadn't been pretty. Minho was especially displeased by the poster where his face had been covered up by a crudely drawn picture of an ass.

And it wasn't a donkey.

"This is unacceptable," Minho finally said after a long silence.

The two boys had been standing in the boys' locker room for almost five minutes now. When they'd first arrived at school they'd realized that one of their biggest posters was missing and after a quick sweep of the school they'd realized they'd been sabotaged. They'd gone straight to the boys' locker room after that to converse, but so far all Minho had done was pace, and all Thomas had done was watch.

Luckily, Minho's words had knocked Thomas out of his stupor.

"Someone vandalized our whole campaign," Thomas added. "Every single poster got hit, so there's no way this was just someone randomly destroying things."

"Gee, did you figure that out all on your own?" Minho asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, figured it out while you were walking a hole into the floor," Thomas retorted.

Minho looked at Thomas like he was going to say something in return, but then he shook his head.

"This is no time for our sexy pre make out bantering. Someone wants to wreck our chances of being prom kings, and we need to teach that shuckface a lesson."

Thomas nodded, although he'd kind of been hoping for a before class make out session. He was human after all, and who wouldn't want to start their morning off by kissing Minho?

But still, Thomas knew how to keep his eye on the prize.

"Okay, so first thing we've got to do is figure out who did this," Thomas said as he took a step away from the lockers he'd been leaning against. He was ready to get things taken care of.

"Please, we both know who did it."

"Gally?"

"Gally."

Two seconds later they were hurrying to catch the other boy at his locker before the bell for first period rang.

* * *

When Thomas and Minho reached Gally he was standing with two of his friends, neither of whom Thomas really knew, nor either of whom Minho really gave a klunk about.

"Okay, you two, go now. We need to have a chat with Gally, here," Minho said as he motioned with his hand for Gally's friends to scat.

"What do you two want?" Gally asked, his right eyebrow arching up.

"You know what we want," Thomas replied.

Gally only rolled his eyes before dismissing his friends. Thomas thought the lack of opposition strange, but then he remembered that Gally was only one tardy away from a detention. That was good. The interrogation would be quick.

"Look, dude, we know you messed up our posters," Minho started. He would have continued if Gally hadn't let out a short laugh.

"I wish. My favorite is the one where Thomas' head got replaced by a cocker spaniel," Gally said with a smile on his face.

"You sound familiar with the posters. Weird since they've only been up for a day," Thomas said, crossing his arms.

"Don't know if you realized this, but your stupid posters were everywhere. Saw at least five everyday just on the walk to my locker," Gally said before slamming his locker door shut. "So, yeah, I've seen a couple of the improved posters."

"Okay, listen here you shuckfaced, slinthead, we know you did it, so just fess up to it and take it like a man," Minho said in an eerily calm voice.

"Why would I even bother? Do you know how much time it must have taken to destroy all of your posters?" Gally was starting to sound hostile.

"You probably did it because you want to be prom king," Minho accused.

"How the hell would destroying your posters make me prom king? Do you know how impossible it is to win that thing if you aren't dating someone?" Gally asked, not sounding hostile anymore, but sounding like he very much thought Minho was an idiot.

"What about Ben?" Thomas asked, suddenly confused.

"I'm not dating Ben!" Gally said, almost yelling, but obviously not meaning to. It wasn't his fault, though. It was hard to keep his cool when so many people were jumping to the wrong conclusion about him and his _completely platonic_ best friend.

"But you guys are going to prom together." The confusion was evident in Thomas' voice. Weren't Gally and Ben dating? Hadn't they been for a while now?

Thomas supposed when he thought about it that the boys in mention hadn't ever declared it… They weren't, like, Facebook official or anything. Still everyone had kind of assumed…

"We're going to prom together platonically, why does everyone have a problem with that?" Gally more or less hissed.

"Uh, dude, only girls go to prom together platonically. Dudes go stag," Minho explained.

"Then we're going stag together."

"You can't go stag with another person, that defeats the purpose—"

"Did you destroy our posters or didn't you, Gally?" Thomas asked trying desperately to get things back on track, despite his confusion.

"No, I didn't," Gally said right before the first bell rang. "And I don't have time to do the whole witch hunt thing. But when you do find out who did it, give them my highest praise."

With that Gally walked away toward his first class, which awkwardly was also Thomas and Minho's first class, meaning they had no choice but to follow along.

"So, do you think he's telling the truth?" Minho asked as he leaned in close to Thomas as they walked.

"I don't know. He's usually more upfront when he does something," Thomas whispered back.

"Yeah, that slinthead can't resist gloating—"

"I am literally walking half a foot in front of you!" Gally called back, only to be ignored.

"So then who do you think did it?" Thomas asked as they made the turn into their classroom.

"I have one other lead, but we should ask Newt and Alby first since they'll probably end up leading the investigation."

Thomas hadn't thought of that. Since Alby was their class president and Newt was the vice president of student council, it was likely that Ratman would expect them, along with Harriet and Sonya, to take charge in figuring out which of their classmates was causing a problem.

Plus that was just the kind of thing Alby and Newt did. They were pretty big on justice and, more importantly, _order_ for all.

"We'll ask them next period."

Minho was glad to hear it. He was pretty sure Thomas wasn't going to like his next lead.

* * *

Thomas and Minho were the first ones to English class that day, except of course for their teacher, Ms. Paige.

"I thought Newt and Alby always got here first. Isn't their first class right down the hall?" Minho asked, already annoyed at the ten second wait.

"To be fair we sprinted here," Thomas reminded his boyfriend.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear you were running in the halls," Ms. Paige muttered, not even looking up from her lesson plan.

"I don't care if we took a jet here! This is important, and it needs to be their top priority!" Minho demanded.

"What needs to be whose top priority?" Newt asked as he and Alby entered the classroom.

"Our prom posters!" Minho yelled.

"Oh, yeah, saw those," Newt said as he took his seat. "Bit of bloody bad luck you lads had."

Alby snorted. "I think they look better than ever."

"This isn't funny!" Minho snarled.

"Yeah, someone is out to ruin our campaign!" Thomas added.

"What do you want us to do about it?" Alby asked with a sneer before sitting next to Newt.

"Um, hello, President Alby! Take care of your people!" Minho said, leaning down onto Alby's desk and getting closer to his face than most people would dare.

"Relax, you loons. We're already looking into it," Newt said with an eye roll.

"You are?" Thomas asked sounding relieved.

"'Course we are. Your campaign has been on the top of our list all bloody morning, hasn't it Alby?"

The shorter boy laughed and one side of his lip curled up in what could almost be described as a smile. "Nothing higher on the priority list."

"You know what? If you don't want to take this seriously, then that's fine. I've got a lead of my own," Minho said as he took his seat, an air of calm suddenly around him.

"Who?" Thomas asked.

"Sorry, Thomas, but if it's not Gally, it's got to be Brenda," Minho said, adding no further explanation. He tried to make it clear in his expression that he wouldn't budge. They needed to talk to Brenda, get her to confess, and then get their campaign back on track.

Thomas wasn't surprised by the accusation. Minho had hated Brenda ever since Thomas had, er, had a thing with her the year before. And even though Brenda and Thomas were on pretty decent terms there was still a little bit of tension left over.

Thomas didn't actually think Brenda would go to such a length to get revenge on him or anything, but he knew they had no other leads. Plus, even if Brenda didn't do it, it was possible that she knew who did. Sometimes Brenda just knew things.

"Fine, we'll talk to Brenda," Thomas agreed.

Minho smiled, happy to see Thomas on the same page as him. Maybe he'd finally realized that Brenda wasn't someone who should be awarded friendship status.

"Bloody good luck to ya," The British boy wished as he smiled at Thomas.

Thomas smiled back for what felt like the first time all morning. He felt confident that even if he and Minho couldn't figure things out, Newt would eventually help them out.

* * *

Thomas and Minho had to wait until lunchtime to see Brenda. And even then it was only by luck that they'd managed to get her alone. Brenda gave off a loner vibe, but she did have a couple of close friends who stuck around her when she let them.

"Hey, Brenda!" Minho yelled at her as she made her way towards the crowded cafeteria.

"Maybe you should let me do the talking?" Thomas suggested, but Minho didn't look like he'd heard him. Thomas would bet money that he had, though.

Brenda turned around and walked over to them, just close enough so that they could use normal speaking voices.

"What do you want?" Brenda's tone made it sound like she was insulted that Minho would even think he could speak to her.

That probably wasn't too far off from the truth. Minho and Brenda just didn't care for each other.

"I want to talk about me and my boyfriend's posters."

Thomas had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Minho made it a point to make sure he always mentioned Thomas was his boyfriend whenever he was talking to Brenda. Or Teresa. Or anyone who'd ever shown a slight interest in Thomas, really.

"What? You want me to beat up the person who did it?" Brenda asked. It sounded like a joke, but it probably wasn't. Brenda knew how to kick some ass and get away with it.

"I don't know. Can you beat yourself up?" Minho inquired, with a smug grin. Internally he high fived himself.

"What are you implying?" Brenda asked, her tone sounding cold.

"I think you know exactly what I'm implying," Minho replied as he stepped closer to eliminate some of the distance between them.

Thomas got in between them before Brenda could reply.

"No one is implying anything—"

"I am."

"Minho, slim it for a second," Thomas told his boyfriend before looking back to Brenda. "Look, you've obviously seen that our posters got destroyed."

"Me and the rest of the student body," Brenda mentioned, seeming to be waiting for Thomas to accuse her of something.

"We just wanted to know if you had any ideas about who could have done it?" Thomas tried. He really didn't peg Brenda as the culprit, but he was really hoping she'd have an idea as to who was really at fault.

"Because you think I did it?" Brenda asked Thomas, although her eyes glanced over at Minho.

"No."

"Yes," Minho interjected.

"Why would I wreck your posters?" Brenda asked, hand on her hip and a glare on her face.

"Because you're the psycho ex seeking revenge on Thomas for dumping you," Minho said with a shoulder shrug. Thomas was glad Minho could be casual about what he'd just said. Thomas was having a hard time hiding his embarrassment.

"Okay, one, Thomas and I never dated. It was a fling. If you're looking for a psycho ex to blame then go find Teresa. And two, he wasn't the one who ended it."

Thomas kind of wanted to interject that actually he _was_ the one to end things, but he decided to forego that in interest of finding out about his prom posters.

"Please, Brenda, do you know anything about our posters?" Thomas asked, his frustration level rising.

"Don't say please to her. She's the one who did it," Minho said, offended that Thomas didn't seem to be on his side.

"You're both idiots. I didn't do anything to your posters, and I don't know who did. And quite frankly, the only way I'll help you find out who did is if Minho apologizes for being the most jealous, overbearing, idiotic—"

"I am not jealous of anyone!"

"Okay, look, this is going nowhere. Thanks for all your help, Brenda, but we've got to go," Thomas said, although he knew he sounded half sarcastic. He knew Brenda wasn't really at fault for the things being said or for their posters being destroyed, but when Minho wasn't happy, neither was he.

Thomas managed to pull Minho away from Brenda, the taller boy glaring the whole time. Once they were a safe distance away from Brenda, Minho turned on him.

"What was that? I thought we agreed Brenda was the only other person who could have done it!" Minho yelled as he threw his hands up.

"I mostly just thought she might know who did it," Thomas explained.

"Well, you still could have backed me up!" Minho argued.

"And you could have let me talk to her. Then maybe she'd be helping us find whoever we're looking for and we wouldn't be out of leads," Thomas said with a glare.

"Yeah, I'm _so sorry_ that I didn't go crawling to your ex for help," Minho said as he crossed his arms and turned away from Thomas.

"Dude, she is not my ex! We had a _thing_. It didn't mean anything. I was still upset about Teresa, and Brenda was my friend, and she was there. That was all," Thomas explained, trying to stay calm. It felt so stupid to be arguing about things that happened a year ago.

"I was your friend, too! I was there. You didn't come to me," Minho said, all at once sounding almost sad.

He knew it was wasn't fair, but sometimes he just really couldn't get over the fact that there was a time where he'd liked Thomas and Thomas hadn't liked _him_. Where Thomas had liked _someone else_.

Followed by months where Minho was _so sure_ that they would work and Thomas just _wasn't_.

And now that Minho had him… God, caring about someone was scary. Realizing that they could change their mind about you at any time and just be with someone else…

"Minho… Things with you… It was confusing then. I didn't know how I felt," Thomas said, his frustration suddenly fading. "But I know how I feel now, and so do you, and I don't get why you feel like you need to bite Brenda and Teresa's heads off. I'm with you. I'm trying to make us prom kings, man. How can you think I'm even thinking about someone else?"

Minho was quiet for a minute before he sighed. He couldn't argue with that.

"I swear monogamy is making me crazy," Minho mumbled.

"Yeah, I think you were crazy before this," Thomas responded, bumping his shoulder against Minho's.

"Look, sorry I killed our chances of getting Brenda to help or whatever. I didn't mean to," Minho apologized.

"It's okay. We'll just have to keep campaigning and hope nothing happens again," Thomas said.

"God, this sucks! I can't stand letting someone get away with this klunk!" Minho yelled.

"Yeah, I know, but I don't know what else to do. I mean, who else would want to hurt our campaign?" Thomas asked as he slid down the wall so that he was sitting in the hallway.

"I have no idea. Everyone loves us. Well, except Gally, and Brenda hates me. But everyone else was completely pushing for us to win!" Minho exclaimed as he sat down next to Thomas.

"Well, obviously someone wasn't."

"Yeah," Minho agreed.

* * *

Lunch was almost over when Chuck left the cafeteria to go to the bathroom. He didn't make it very far to his destination before seeing Thomas and Minho, though.

Thomas was without a doubt one of Chuck's favorite people. Minho was alright too. But Thomas had been living next door to Chuck since he moved there his freshman year. They'd been quick friends, with Chuck showing Thomas around town his first week. Even though Thomas was older and, although Chuck hated to admit it, way cooler, Thomas still took time to hang out with him. So of course Chuck talked to him whenever possible.

But at the moment he and his boyfriend both looked pretty awful.

"Why do you guys look like klunk?" The freshman asked looking between Minho and Thomas.

Minho rolled his eyes, not in the mood for Chuck's presence, but Thomas answered.

"Someone destroyed our prom posters, but we can't figure out who," Thomas explained.

Chuck thought for a moment, scratching the back of his neck in nervousness. He'd heard all about the posters and he'd seen some of the ones that were still hanging up. But he'd also seen something the day before when he'd been leaving a tutoring session. Well, actually he'd seen someone. Two someone's.

Chuck had seen Newt and Alby leaving the school while he was waiting for his mom to pick him up. He'd almost called out to say hi to them, but had decided not to. Newt was usually nice enough to talk to him for a little while, but Alby sometimes scared him. It wasn't like Chuck didn't like the guy, in a lot of ways he really admired him, he just didn't want to bother the easily annoyed junior.

Besides he and Newt had both been carrying what looked like crumpled paper and art supplies, and they'd both looked _really_ happy. Like, happy enough for Newt to push Alby up onto the hood of Alby's car and kiss him for, well, Chuck didn't know how long he'd sort of stopped watching at that point.

Chuck had kind of put two and two together this morning when he'd seen the destruction.

But now the question was whether or not he should say anything.

"Have you, uh, asked Newt and Alby about it?" Chuck asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Duh, one of the first things we did," Minho told him.

"Oh, I just wondered. I mean, I know they stayed after school yesterday so I thought maybe they'd seen something," Chuck said, deciding he was going to leave out the part about Newt and Alby having the art supplies in hand.

"Newt and Alby stayed after school yesterday?" Thomas asked as he shared a look with Minho.

The pieces were all falling together.

"Yeah, I, uh, saw them after tutoring is all," Chuck responded before deciding it was time to get out of the situation. He did not want Newt and Alby to know he'd ratted on them knowingly. "Anyway, I've got to go to the bathroom, later!"

* * *

The showdown happened with only five minutes left in the lunch period.

Thomas and Minho walked up to the table where Newt and Alby were sitting. It wasn't until that moment that it occurred to Thomas that Newt and Alby hadn't even cared if they were at lunch or not.

Those _shanks_.

Newt barely looked at the duo before his face broke out in a wide grin.

"Oh, have the bloody Harvey Boy's reached the end of their mystery already?"

"You smug little shi—slinthead! You guys were the ones who sabotaged our campaign!" Minho yelled.

"Do you want a slow clap for figuring that out?" Alby asked barely looking up from his applesauce.

"You guys lied to us!" Thomas really couldn't believe it. He'd trusted them. Well, he'd trusted Newt at least, and trusting Alby usually came with that.

"When? We said your campaign was our top bloody priority, and it is," Newt replied, still looking smug.

"Wreckin' it is anyway," Alby added finally seeming to give Thomas and Minho some of his attention.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys? Why would you want to wreck our campaign?" Minho asked. He was almost as confused as he was angry. He couldn't believe his best friends were the ones at fault. A part of him even expected some sort of rational explanation.

"You shuckfaces kept goin' on about beatin' us, thought that meant you wanted us to actually try," Alby finally said. And the glare he sent with the statement was almost chilling.

Thomas had seen Alby angry plenty, but this seemed different.

And it was different, because Alby wasn't just annoyed at them on his own accord. He was _mad_. And despite what Thomas thought, he hadn't truly seen Alby angry. He especially hadn't seen him angry on Newt's behalf.

But Minho didn't catch that.

"Oh, you guys actually want to do this? You actually want to go up against us?" Minho asked, his voice slipping into the same tone he'd been using to trash talk for the last two weeks.

"Already made the first move, mate," Newt said with a shrug, his smile having gone away with Alby's last remark.

"Fine, it's on," Minho said just as the bell rang and students began to flood around them.

"Like Donkey Kong," Newt added as he stood up.

"Good that," Alby said as he stood up to join his boyfriend.

"Good that," Thomas repeated.

And just like that they'd all consented to war.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a battle of passion and burnt cupcakes. Also, Minho makes brilliant plans, okay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to have this out a little earlier, but work has been kicking my butt. Also trying to keep the balance between serious elements and humor has been a challenge. Let me know how I'm doing!
> 
> And on a last note, while Brenda and Teresa don't appear in this chapter, I do kind of want to address their relationship now. It starts off a little rough and the guys are kind of idiots about seeing the subtext, but I promise things make more sense once Brenda and Teresa start playing bigger roles in the chapters.

**Chapter 3**

Things couldn't have been going any better the next week for team Nalby. The two boys in mention were nothing if not planners, and they'd managed to throw together a good campaign quickly.

They'd decorated the school with a decent number of quality posters, each with _actual_ aesthetic appeal, unlike the ones Minho and Thomas had subjected their peers to. And, on top of that, the buttons they'd made to hand out were a big hit.

And of course the icing on the cake was that the only edible part on the cupcakes Minho and Thomas were handing out was the store bought icing.

Newt and Alby were having a grand old time.

The couple had just finished handing out their buttons when loud yelling lured them closer to Minho and Thomas' hastily set up booth near the entrance to the school. The table was decorated with a white table cloth, held in place by grey ducktape, and a crooked sign reading 'Nothing is sweeter than Minho and Thomas as prom kings.' On top of that disaster, one of the table legs looked like it was about to fall off.

Alby and Newt shared a grin as they watched the scene in front of them unfold.

"Oh, come on Frypan! They aren't that bad!" Minho yelled as he shoved one of his cupcakes toward Frypan, who shook his head in response.

"No way, man. These things are insults to bakers everywhere," Frypan refused as he glared down at the burnt sweets in front of him.

"Aris, buddy, you've got to try one!" Thomas tried to convince the other boy, who was standing between Frypan and Rachel, his best friend and girlfriend.

"No, man, I really don't," Aris said as he backed a few inches away from the booth.

"These things are like rocks," Rachel told the couple as she knocked one against the table to demonstrate.

"Did you even wait for them to cool before you put the icing on?" Frypan asked.

"Is it bad if you don't?" Thomas asked, looking toward Minho, who only offered a shrug, looking just as confused as he was.

"Dude, _I can't_ ," Frypan announced, rubbing his hands together in a gesture of washing them of the situation before turning and walking away, Aris and Rachel beside him.

"Hey! Come back! I thought we were friends!" Minho yelled, tossing a cupcake at Frypan, and hitting the boy directly in the back. When Fypan almost fell over at the impact Minho and Thomas both winced.

That's when Newt and Alby started laughing, alerting their enemies to their presence.

"What do you guys want?" Minho asked, a sneer on his face.

"Just seeing how your campaign is going," Newt said evenly, although he couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

"Is your plan to beat people into voting for ya?" Alby asked, barking laughter escaping his mouth.

"Oh, ha ha. Like you could have made better cupcakes," Minho retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"One, couldn't have made 'em any worse," Alby said as he picked up one of the cupcakes to test the structure. "Two, wouldn't have been stupid enough to pass 'em out if they had turned out this bad."

"Okay, but at least we had the right idea. People _like_ cupcakes. No one wants a button," Thomas reminded Alby.

"Right. Except that our buttons flash," Newt said as he pressed a button on his button, making it flash around the outside of the circle. "And people _like_ things that are flashy."

For a second both Thomas and Minho were angry, but then a thought struck Minho and he grinned.

Newt and Alby seemed to realize that at the same time, as they looked at each other, then back to Minho with raised brows.

"You're right there, Newt. People do like things that are flashy," Minho agreed as he pulled Thomas away from the booth and closer to the main hallway where people were walking around. "Because people like things that are exciting. People like passion."

"You goin' somewhere with this?" Alby asked in a bored tone. However, there was definitely a part of him that was curious.

"Yeah, you guys have the passion of a ninety year old married couple. You've been together so long you've lost that spark. You guys don't have the fire anymore. Whereas Thomas and I are all fire. You guys are boring. Thomas and I make people want to fall in love and bang on the floor," Minho explained, smirk on his face the whole time. Then, to make his point, he dragged his boyfriend to the middle of the crowded hallway and began kissing him fiercely.

Thomas gasped against Minho's mouth, but the Asian boy only used it as an opportunity to deepen the kiss, giving Thomas the full on tongue that he knew he enjoyed.

Minho could practically feel the stares on them and he relished in them. No one could outdo him and Thomas when it came to passion, and Minho was certain that that fact alone was enough to make them prom kings. He and Thomas were electric, and who wanted to live without electricity?

No one. That's who.

Newt wrinkled his nose in disgust. He wasn't one for huge displays of public affection at the best of times, and especially not when the ones displaying were his friends.

But just the same Newt watched. He watched as people wolf whistled, as they stared, as they shouted out things that they'd get detention for if Rat Man heard them. And Newt knew that Minho had a point.

Not about Newt and Alby not having a passionate relationship, because quite frankly they were very passionate. They just happened to also be very private.

But Newt knew that when it came to getting votes it would be better to play up every aspect of their relationship. It wasn't enough to love each other. They needed to shove that love in the faces of their peers. And a little lust wouldn't hurt, because it was high school and to a lot of people one equaled the other.

He quickly devised a plan in his head before looking over at Alby.

A quick look showed Newt that he was not thinking along the same lines. His boyfriend was too busy making a beeline toward Minho, a scowl already in place.

Alby didn't hesitate to grab Minho by the shirt and pull him away from Thomas, who immediately took in a gulp of air as though he'd been choking. Alby's grip tightened as he looked at Minho.

That stupid slinthead. He always had to take things too far. He couldn't just apologize for being a jerk in the first place, and he couldn't just campaign like a normal person. He had to make it personal. Had to try to poke holes where there weren't any.

Minho had been one of his best friends for years, but sometimes Minho needed to be punched, and Alby was pretty sure he was finally going to do it. Swore to God that if any of what Minho had just said had gotten Newt upset in the slightest, he'd definitely do it.

How was that for passion?

"What'd you say about our relationship?" Alby demanded, his hand bunched up in Minho's shirt like he'd throw him across the hall without a second's notice.

Minho raised a brow in response as he looked down at where Alby was gripping his shirt. He was used to the other boy yelling at him; that was a given. Just like Minho being super sarcastic to Alby was a given. But Alby didn't usually make moves like he'd actually try to hurt him. They were best bros, and bros don't hit bros.

But Alby actually looked kind of upset, and Minho didn't really get that. So he'd pointed out that they weren't super passionate; big deal. They had other strengths. Minho bet they'd never fight about money and that they'd be pragmatic enough to have an adjoined cemetery plot by age twenty-five.

It was just that that type of relationship didn't win prom kings. You vote for the guys who'll still be banging at forty, not the ones who'll be helping each other with the crossword.

"Dude, I'm just saying you guys have a less intimate relationship than us. Let it go." Minho shrugged after the comment, not sure what else to say. He figured being rivals must really be getting to Alby.

Alby felt like he was going to lose it. Like this would be the fight that finally forced him into anger management classes.

A decent sized group of students were standing around like they were hoping for it.

"You don't know shit about intimacy! You two shuck faces slam your dicks together and pretend that means something when you can't even go a day without arguing, and then you want to talk about us?"

Newt took that as his moment to spring into action.

Newt didn't often concern himself much with Alby's anger. Yeah, Alby could scare freshmen into crapping themselves, but he wasn't a danger. But just the same anytime he thought Alby might be going a little too far, Newt would put a hand on his back, signaling him to ease up.

However, this time his hand went to Alby's hip, a subtle change that he knew Alby would notice.

Alby didn't disappoint him. He immediately turned his head to Newt, his hand releasing Minho, but instead of a look that told Newt he'd calmed down, he gave a look of confusion.

"Keep going. I bloody love it when you're ready to knock heads for me," Newt said too loudly to be natural as he slid up behind Alby, wrapping his arms around his middle. "So bloody sexy," Newt purred, going as far as to lean down and briefly pull on Alby's ear with his teeth.

Alby immediately caught on, and somehow kept himself from laughing long enough to turn back to Minho and Thomas, a forced angry expression on his face.

"You two don't know jack about love. Or us. I'd walk to the ends of the earth for Newt, and then I'd do him better than either of you could ever do each other. And you say another word about us missing fire, I'll torch you both," Alby finished coldly, before turning enough to make Newt unwrap his arms, and then putting his arm around Newt and leading him away from the other boys, who both looked offended and confused, and from the small crowd that had gathered around for the fight.

Newt grinned as they walked away, leaning closer to Alby for effect.

In response Alby let his hand slide into the taller boy's back pocket.

Newt looked at Alby and upon meeting the shorter boy's eyes they both had to stifle their laughter.

Neither of them had to voice how ridiculous what had just occurred was. It was probably one of the stupidest arguments Alby had ever participated in, and Newt felt like he had just called upon his inner porn star. But still, they had to admit it was funny.

Newt jumped a little as he felt Alby squeeze his butt, and he quickly turned his head to give his best friend a questioning look.

"Just trying to sell it," Alby said simply, his light smile betraying his motives.

"I give you soul custody of my arse and you're trying to sell it; what a bloody prick," Newt whispered.

And once again they were laughing.

* * *

Minho barely took the time to swing the door to his room open before instantly collapsing face first onto his bed.

"We gave Newt ideas," he groaned, barely lifting his head from his pillow.

"Technically you were the one who gave Newt ideas," Thomas pointed out, not bothering to mention that Minho had also given him a partial boner in the middle of the hallway, as he gently shut the door to Minho's room.

Minho lifted his head just long enough to glare before letting his face slump back down into the pillow.

"It's not like it's a big deal," Thomas said before sitting down on what little space Minho had left for him. "We just need to figure out our next move."

"Our next move is to not let Alby get away with saying that kind of stuff again," Minho grumbled as he begrudgingly made more room for Thomas on the bed.

"We probably deserved it, but I was surprised you didn't say anything." Thomas had begun to run his fingers over one of Minho's arms, a favorite pastime of his. He could never get enough of those arms.

"Dude, I was too surprised to say anything after Newt went all 'let me blow you in the hallway!'" Minho yelled, lifting himself up onto his knees rapidly and facing Thomas, who had had to quickly release his arm.

"What about Alby? He'd walk to the ends of the earth for Newt and then sex him up real good? I think that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard Alby say," Thomas added, making Minho let out a light laugh.

"We cannot lose to them. We just really can't. Not after the stupid shit that came out of their mouths today," Minho declared as he moved to sit cross legged on the bed.

"Okay, so what do you think the plan should be?" Thomas asked, focusing on the situation and definitely not Minho's arms.

"We're going to out gay them," Minho said as though it were the most brilliant plan that had ever been concocted because, okay, it totally was.

"Out gay them? You know Newt's the only one of us who's actually gay, right?" Thomas said, pointing out the fact that the other three boys all identified as either bisexual or pansexual.

"You're right. Besides it's not enough," Minho decided before standing up and taking a determined stance. "From now until prom, I am neither gay nor straight, bi nor pan, nor am I any sexuality in between!"

Thomas couldn't help smiling as he watched Minho make his speech. His boyfriend was over dramatic, sure, but he was also hot and kind of cute when he was taking things too seriously.

"From now until prom I am purely Thomassexual!" Minho exclaimed.

"Thomassexual?" Thomas asked.

"That's what I said. From now until prom you are the wind beneath my wings, the air in my lungs, the candy in my Christmas stalking. In short, my everything."

"Wow. And here I thought I was already all of those things," Thomas said sarcastically, although he couldn't pull off a glare to go with it.

"Thomas I am going to love you so hardcore that no one's going to be able to stand it. My love for you is going to be the explosion that blows up the school," Minho explained as he paced around the room making exaggerated arm movements. "I am going to be so Thomassexual, and everyone's going to know it."

Minho finished his speech by looking at Thomas with a grin. "What do you think about that?"

Minho was expecting Thomas to be impressed. Like, such a level of impressed that he'd throw himself onto Minho and beg to be taken.

"I think it's nice…" Thomas trailed off and Minho raised a brow in confusion.

"But?" Minho asked. He really didn't understand how such a perfect plan could elect a 'but.'

"But there's no way you're going to me more Thomassexual than I am Minhosexual." Thomas said with a shrug and a grin. Challenge posed.

"Oh, is that what you think?" Minho asked. Challenge accepted.

"Minho, I am going to love you so much our future adopted children are going to feel it," Thomas said looking into Minho's eyes, daring him to come up with a comeback.

"Yeah?" Minho questioned as he pushed Thomas back onto the bed. "My love for you is going to cause world peace. Seriously, I'm going to love you so much that everyone will throw their guns away, join hands, and sing kumbaya."

"Okay, but," Thomas started before he pulled Minho onto him. "I'm going to love you so much that Gally stops being an asshole. To everyone. And he'll admit that he's dating Ben."

"Fuck, I can't top that," Minho said before he began kissing up Thomas' neck.

"I know something you can top," Thomas said, wiggling his eyebrows in suggestion.

"Take your damn pants off," The taller boy demanded before letting out a throaty laugh. "God, I am so Thomassexual right now."

"But not as Thomassexual as I am Minhosexual," Thomas reminded the boy as he wiggled out of his pants.

Minho thought he might have to fight his boyfriend more on that.

But later. After sexy time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No length is too far for Nalby to push Thominho into the ground. Also Teresa gets dragged into things and must do her best to feel like she can stand tall next to Brenda and her perfect hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, but honestly this chapter was just really awful to write. Hopefully I will get back into my groove with the next one. I'd love to know what you think!

**Chapter 4**

The next day at school Alby and Newt were more than prepared for Minho and Thomas to retaliate. They had spent the previous night brainstorming and had come up with a foolproof strategy for staying on top. It started with being more overt with their relationship.

That was what led them to the central area of the cafeteria before classes started that morning. At the moment they were surrounded by their classmates, killing time before classes. For them killing time was making sure everyone was listening to them flirting.

"I hope we don't have as much homework tonight. I'd love to actually get some quality time with you," Newt said as he ran his hand through Alby's short hair. Newt was currently sitting on top of a table, one of his legs resting over Alby's shoulder.

"Well, I would have been done sooner last night if someone hadn't kept texting me," Alby replied, his hand rubbing up and down Newt's cafe.

"I couldn't bloody help it," Newt said, leaning closer to Alby. "I missed you."

"Then you should come over tonight," Alby 'whispered,' making sure to rub just a little higher up on Newt's leg.

The students around them were obviously enjoying the banter going on. All of them were listening intently and at Alby's suggestion there were more than a few approving calls and pats on the back.

"Mmm, whatever you want," Newt agreed, grabbing the hand that was on his leg and pulling it up a little higher, before lacing their fingers together.

It was just after that that Newt looked up and happened to see Thomas and Minho walking into the cafeteria. Newt grinned. They were going down.

Thomas and Minho both had their heads up as they walked into the cafeteria. They'd talked the night before and had decided to up their game by being even more passionate than usual. It had been Minho's idea for them to wear their matching track jerseys because, in his words, it would be 'freaking adorable and super spirited.' Thomas hadn't been able to argue.

And of course they were walking with their arms around each other's waists, making it clear to anyone who saw them that they were together.

So of course when they made it to the cafeteria, where kids hung out in the mornings until classes started, they expected to have some attention.

But that was a short lived dream.

Minho saw Newt and Alby almost immediately. They were sitting at a long table near the middle of the cafeteria. Newt was actually sitting on the tabletop, his bad leg resting on Alby's knee.

But what bothered him about the scene, other than the fact that Newt and Alby were surrounded by people, was what Newt was wearing.

It was a tight green football jersey, which Minho didn't have to see the back of to know Alby's name and number were there. What really sold it though was that it had to be years old based on the way it fit. And what was cuter than Newt having kept one of Alby's football jerseys from way back in the day?

Gag.

"I can't believe he's wearing that," Thomas said, sounding shocked.

"How are we supposed to compete with that?" Minho growled. "I don't even still own a jersey that old."

"I couldn't _fit_ in one that old. Newt looks like his was painted on," Thomas said throwing his hands in the air.

"We have to go over there and do something," Minho decided, taking a few steps forward before Thomas pulled him back.

"We need a game plan first," Thomas reminded him.

It was right after that that Newt caught Minho's eye, and he saw the blond boy grin, a glint in his eye.

"No way, Newt just made eye contact. We need to do something now," Minho told Thomas.

"Minho, this isn't a pokemon battle. We need a plan," Thomas argued.

But a second later the argument didn't matter as the boys heard Newt let out a cry of pain and turned to see where he'd jumped off of the table he was sitting on.

Newt hissed in fake pain, knowing to anyone around that it would sound real enough, as he used Alby to stabilize himself.

"Are you alright?" Alby asked in a concerned voice. And a big part of him was concerned, although not for Newt's leg.

It had been Newt's idea to incorporate his injury into their 'act.' Newt had been the one to say people would eat up the idea of Alby having to take care of him. But Alby still wasn't fully comfortable with it.

Newt's injury was years old, but that didn't mean the feelings behind it were. But Newt flashed him a small reassuring smile that told him to stop thinking about it.

"Yeah, my leg is just a little stiff, I guess," Newt said before putting weight back on the foot, wincing and moving all of his weight to the other leg again.

"That's such bullshit," Minho said lowly to Thomas.

Minho knew Newt as well as anybody, which meant knowing how Newt's leg worked. Because, yeah, Newt had a limp, but it was hardly an unbearable injury. Minho had seen Newt run plenty of times with no complaint.

And that was the thing. Newt never complained about his leg. Sure, there were times where someone had called him out on his leg obviously being in pain- cold weather actually _did_ make the leg stiffen up enough to hurt- but he never _complained_ about it. Probably because of some stupid fear that someone would tell him that that was his own fault since he'd been the one to jump.

"Come on," Alby said, crouching down. "You're going to have to take a ride."

"What is this? My prince coming to rescue me from my own immobility?" Newt asked, pretending to consider whether or not to accept the piggyback ride.

"I would have brought a stallion with me if I'd have known you'd need one," Alby told the boy. "Now come on."

Newt slowly grabbed hold of his boyfriend's neck and allowed himself to be raised up. Once he felt situated, he leaned over to kiss the other boy's cheek.

"I think you're a stallion," Newt declared with conviction.

"Yeah? Then how about a better kiss?" Alby asked turning his head as far around as he could.

"Like you even have to ask," Newt said flirtatiously before leaning forward and kissing Alby deeply.

Minho could hear the 'awwing' and the wolf whistles. He wanted nothing more than to go over and expose his lying friend. But he knew that would only come off as looking jealous for attention. And he was not jealous.

Well, he was, but he wasn't going to admit it.

Newt and Alby broke apart eventually and when they did Alby carried Newt toward the door. Alby didn't even pause when he got close to Minho and Thomas, just smirked.

Newt, on the other hand, held his hand up to his forehead in the shape of an 'L.'

"Losers," he said in a low voice to avoid having anyone besides Tommy and Minho hear him.

As Alby carried him out of the room Newt felt triumphant. That was twice in a row that they had bested Minho and Tommy.

Still there was a nagging feeling that he'd gone too far. Using his leg had been his idea and he'd been sure he was okay with it. But there was still that thought in his head that using his leg for his own benefit was wrong. Like by using it he was saying that his suicide attempt was okay.

"Are you sure that wasn't too much?" Alby asked as he sat Newt down in the mostly empty hallway.

When Newt looked at Alby he knew the other boy wasn't seeing things the way he was. Alby was worried that using his leg was making him think too much about his past attempt. Alby would never think of what they just did as Newt trivializing his suicide attempt.

Newt shook his head.

"Yeah," Newt said his voice bordering on a laugh. "They're just making me bloody crazy."

Newt shook off any bad feelings he had about using his injury to fool people. The only thing that was causing problems was the way Minho and Tommy were acting, and Newt would do what needed to be done to fix that.

In the cafeteria the bell rang before Minho or Thomas had a chance to do anything and as students filtered out around them, Thomas turned to Minho.

"Did he seriously call us losers?" Thomas asked sounding angry.

"Yeah, and he gave us the 'L' sign. Someone should tell Newt he's not a true shucking 90's kid," Minho snapped back. "Even if he and Alby do act like old married people."

"We have to get reinforcement," Thomas said suddenly.

"From who?" Minho asked confused at Thomas' sudden conviction.

"Teresa," Thomas answered sternly.

"No way! Why?" Minho asked. He really wasn't in the mood to go to Thomas' ex for help. Hadn't he and Thomas literally just had a conversation about Minho not wanting to crawl to Thomas' exes for help? Wasn't that the main thing that came out of that conversation?

"Because she's diabolical, and I know she'll help us," Thomas explained not sounding like he would budge.

Minho sighed.

"Fine. We ask. But she's not becoming our campaign manager or anything like that," Minho told Thomas, crossing his arms.

"No way. Just a one time advice giver," Thomas agreed before running his hand down one of Minho's arms until the other boy uncrossed them. Thomas then took hold of his hand.

"Okay, class first. We'll hit Teresa up during study hall," Thomas said as they began to speed walk to class.

"Good that," Minho said, squeezing Thomas' hand a little tighter.

* * *

Thomas and Minho were quick to take seats next to Teresa during study hall.

The girl smiled at them at first, but then her brow raised. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We just want some advice," Thomas began.

"Quick advice," Minho added.

Teresa grinned. Unlike Brenda, Teresa didn't hate Minho. Of course Minho hated Teresa more than Brenda because she'd actually hurt Thomas, so that was only a small victory.

Thomas really needed to figure out a way to get Minho to stop hating everyone who showed an interest in him.

"What do you boys need?" Teresa asked.

"Okay, so we're campaigning for prom kings," Thomas told the girl.

"I saw that. Your posters ended up a little defaced," Teresa said with an amused smile.

"It's not funny! Freakin' Newt and Alby were the ones who did it! And now they're running a dirty campaign against us because we told them we were a better couple," Minho explained, a glare on his face the whole time.

Teresa seemed to think for a moment before she spoke.

"Does this dirty campaign have anything to do with why they've been so… into each other today?" Teresa asked.

"Yeah, we told them that people liked us more as a couple because we were more intimate, and now they're trying to outdo us," Minho explained simply.

"Okay," Teresa said slowly. "You realize how stupid that is, right? No one likes a couple more because they makeout in the hallway."

" _Oh my God_ , you don't get it," Minho said giving the girl a dismissive hand that she only laughed at. "Thomas this is a waste of time."

Thomas shook his head at Minho before turning back to Teresa.

"Look, we just really need your advice here. We need to one up Newt and Alby," Thomas pleaded, ignoring Minho's groans in the background.

"You want my advice on out doing them with intimacy? Because at this rate I think you might need to have sex in public to do that," Teresa told the boys.

"No!" Thomas yelled shaking his head and somehow ignoring the stare from the study hall teacher. "We just need to out do them in general. We need to make people think we are the better couple."

"Look, you guys know how a campaign works. That's what you need to do. Stop worrying about what they're doing," Teresa advised them.

"That's 'loser' talk," Minho said putting up the 'L' sign.

Teresa only gave him a confused look at the gesture.

"Come on, Teresa, help me out," Thomas tried again.

"Look, even if I thought what you guys were doing was a good way to get votes, I still wouldn't help you," Teresa explained to a shocked looking Thomas. "Because if you guys keep this up, then so will Newt and Alby. And all that will do is ruin your friendship over some stupid plastic crowns."

"We'd look great in those crowns!" Thomas yelled, this time being shushed by the teacher in the room.

"Look, Thomas, forget it. I told you we should have went to Brenda for help anyway," Minho said in a calm voice.

Teresa immediately tensed at the mention of the other girl.

It didn't take Thomas long to figure out what Minho was trying to do. Teresa and Brenda hadn't been able to stand each other since everything that had happened the year before. Really ever since they'd met it'd been nothing but awkward and forced conversations, with occasional stolen glares at each other. Sure, both girls were mostly fine with Thomas now, but neither of them had ever taken the time to talk things out together. Both girls seemed fine with disliking each other.

"Why would you go to Brenda for help?" Teresa asked, her face calm but cold. Thomas and Brenda weren't a thing anymore so Teresa really didn't see a reason for them to go to her. Plus she didn't even _like_ Minho.

"She can be diabolical," Minho said using Thomas' explanation for coming to Teresa for help earlier.

"She probably won't even help you," Teresa told the boys with her arms crossed. Teresa knew Brenda was too above such immaturity. She'd never help them. Unless she thought it'd be funny. Brenda kind of had a dark sense of humor that way.

"And that would be different from you how?" Thomas asked, crossing his arms to match hers.

Teresa glared at Tom for a moment before she responded, "I'm not stupid. I know what you guys are doing."

And she did know. They were just trying to pit her against Brenda. Brenda and her perfect hair, and her killer sense of humor, and her above it all attitude. Like Teresa needed to be forced to compete against Brenda. It was like everyone could see just how great Brenda was and like they knew that Teresa wasn't quite sure if she could measure up. But whatever. If Tom and Minho wanted to put that kind of pressure on her she'd just give them what they wanted.

"But if you guys wants to annoy everyone and ruin your friendship, then I know exactly how to do it."

"We're all ears, traitor," Minho told her, using the nickname he said she'd 'earned' when she turned her back on Thomas to help Aris with his love life.

"Follow me. We're going to the drama room. You're going to need about a week to practice, an outfit change, and a boom box," Teresa said standing up and leading the way toward the teacher's desk to ask for a hall pass. "Prepare yourselves. By the end of next week you'll have the most romantic prom ask anyone has ever seen."

Thomas grinned. It was going to be perfect.

 


End file.
